Astrology and History: Yasser Arafat's Death

I cast an astrological chart for the passing of Yasser Arafat today, asking the question, "How will this affect the state of world peace and the future of the Middle East?" The astrological chart was cast for 6:20 AM, local time in Jerusalem, the best time I have for the moment when his death was announced.

The first thing that pops out is Mars 12^th house, square Saturn in the 9^th. There will be secret negotiations and discussions, and the risk of violence is strong. The 11^th house is strong, and the astrological aspects there are considerably better. The best hope for peace is for a "friend or associate" from outside to broker discussions to help the Palestinian people to more smoothly manage the transition. It is possible that a woman or a spiritual leader will take an important role in getting the factions to work together.

There will be powerful, unexpected and dramatic changes to the "homeland" ideas of the Palestinian people following this event. There remain considerable difficulties ahead. There will certainly be more bumps along the road to peace. The leadership and peoples on both sides are divided. Sacrifices will have to be made to promote healing.

I have felt for several days that it might be possible that the true cause of death might never be revealed. The word "poison" kept coming to mind whenever I watched news reports about his illness. This may be confirmed by the Plutonian rulership of the ascendant of this chart, the strong 12th house, and the strongly negative aspects between Mars, Saturn, and North Node indicate political motivation for the events unfolding today.

Overall, the aspects are so mixed that it is difficult to say what the "outcome" may be – in fact, I am tempted to conclude that nothing will change immediately in terms of the daily struggle for peace in the middle east. The positive aspects are equally as powerful as the challenging ones. My sense of things psychically is that this will be a turning point in a more positive direction in the long run, there will be many shocking events to follow, but there will be considerably more time to pass before there is any demonstrably positive effect in the lives of the people in the Middle East.

New Executive Appointed at Astrology.ca

I would like to introduce Astrology.ca's new Executive Vice President in Charge of Wasting Time. This dear sweet kitten we've named "Punkin" joined my family a couple weeks ago, and I haven't gotten much done since then (besides taking lots of pictures of her, of course).

Luckily, before she arrived I did get some new Halloween images uploaded to the "How-To" section of the Jasmine's Gallery site. Click here to download some free Jack-O-Lantern carving patterns and Halloween Safety tips. I even have a couple patterns for you politics junkies down in the USA ... Jack-O-Lantern carving patterns of George W. Bush and John Kerry. Can you imagine anything scarier this Halloween? 

Current astrological aspects to note ...  Saturn Square Mercury, Orb 4°04' Applying. Have you noticed that some folks seem to be rather ornery, inflexible and stubborn in their thinking lately? That may be due to the current square between Saturn in Cancer and Mercury in Libra. 

Happy Birthday ... to me!

Questions from readers: 

For the last while I have interested in a girl who is a Sagittarius and I am a Pisces. Now I know we are not compatible
according to the charts but I love this girl and we get along extremely well. I know that I don't have all the characteristics of a Pisces but she has most of the characteristics of a Sagittarius. So I am wondering what the chances of us having a loving relationship?

KY

Dear KY:

You don't include her birth data with your chart so it's impossible for me to give you truly personal detail. But I wanted to answer your question, because it's one I get all the time. We have a small list of "compatible signs" here on Astrology.ca, but I introduce that page by saying that the most common question astrologers get is "Tell me what Sign I am compatible with?" There is no simple way to answer this question with integrity. There is no way to tell people who is compatible for them based on Sun-Signs.

Your Moon sign, Ascendant, Mars and Venus placements are each as important to compatibility as your Sun Sign is - perhaps more so! For example, if you are a Libra, you could meet a nice Aquarian, whose Moon in Scorpio would drive you right around the bend. Aquarius with Moon in Scorpio won't act like a typical Aquarius when aroused. Such a person is likely to be a lot more passionate, secretive, and jealous than you would expect of Aquarius. Then you'd come back, waggle your finger at us and say "Hey! Those online astrologers told me Aquarius was my ideal sign, they must have been a bunch of loonies!" ... and our other great fear is you might write off all the nice Taurus, Leo, and Scorpio folks, one of whom may have an Ascendant, Moon or Mars in Gemini, and end up shunning your soul mate on what is truly very spurious advice.

The bottom line is that an astrologer has to have full and complete natal data from both parties to cast a real compatibility chart. It would be irresponsible to try to give advice based on Sun-Signs alone. I will say looking at your chart, you are strong in Virgo energy, which is not particularly compatible with Sagittarius, but you have a Scorpio Ascendant, which might change the picture dramatically. I suggest you both have full natal charts cast and study them together.

Current astrological aspects to note ...  Uranus Quincunx Mars, Orb 1°48' Applying. There is a lot of impulsiveness and frustration floating around in the astrological ether right now.
Take deep breaths, let things go.

Libra Mars Conjunct Mercury, Orb 0°44' Applying. Mars Conjunct Jupiter, Orb 0°56' Separating. Mars Conjunct Sun Orb 4°34' Separating.Whew! That's a lot of energy for us poor Libras to work with. If you are in an air sign (Libra, Aquarius, Gemini), you may be feeling a lot of extra energy right now. Expect a war of words between the US Presidential candidates about legal issues, trial lawyers, and religious traditional values and marriage could come back up again too. Both sides are going to accuse the other of "waffling" and "fence-sitting" (Libra loves to look at both sides of an argument). With all of that Quincunx to Uranus, at least one of them is likely to make an impulsive statement that could come back to haunt him.

Current astrological aspects to note ... Pluto Trine Venus, Orb 4°59' Separating. Have you noticed strange but exciting changes in personal relationships the past few weeks?